On Thursday, Denver B-Cycle unveiled four hand-painted bikes that will soon be available at one of their docking stations. They're kind of like Easter eggs in a movie: special and rare and you've got to keep your eyes peeled to catch one.
Artists Robin Munro (known as Dread), Thomas Evans (AKA Detour), Pat Milbery and Anthony Garcia each painted a bike. They're expected to be released into the world this weekend and could remain out there for as long as seven months.
"Art is such a key part of health," said Jandel Allen-Davis, vice president for government external relations and research at Kaiser Permanente, Denver B-Cycle's longtime sponsor. "We know that one of the really important things to the sense of your well being and health is the ability to creatively express yourself."
Lately, there have been more and more bike and scooter-sharing options making their way onto Denver streets. But Allen-Davis said the new, arty bikes aren't an escalation in a war over who will rule Denverite's choice of wheels.
"We don’t look at it as a war. Come on in, the water’s great. We’ll take all comers to think about multi-modal transportation."
Making bikes available, she said, is crucial to promote healthy lifestyles and accessibility for everyone in the city. One of Kaiser's core missions is to emphasize the use of B-Cycles in underserved neighborhoods that "we don't often think about," she said.
The bikes will be released in and around RiNo. While they're free to roam all over the city, Kaiser Permanente spokesperson Nick Roper said they might try to find them and bring them back to the neighborhood every now and then.
